Bill
AB 2232
AB 2232 removes the Board of Parole Hearings’ power to move parole hearings up and requires annual public reporting on advancement requests and related processes through 2031.
Jurisdiction: California
Purpose and intent
- This bill proposes to remove the Board of Parole Hearings’ (BPH) authority to advance parole consideration hearings to earlier dates and to eliminate the corresponding inmate-initiated request process for advancement.
- In place of the ongoing advancement process, the bill requires the BPH, in coordination with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), to collect, publish, and annually report data on requests to advance parole consideration hearing dates and on the administrative review processes of those requests.
- The reporting would be continuous for a set period (through at least 2031) and the data would be publicly available on the BPH website.
Key provisions and changes
- amendment to Penal Code sections:
- Add Section 3069.6 establishing a mandatory annual data collection and reporting program on requests to advance parole consideration hearing dates and the corresponding administrative review processes.
- Require an annual report to the Legislature by March 1 of each year starting 2027, with public posting on the BPH website starting March 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.
- The report must cover:
- Volume and outcomes: total requests filed, granted/denied/pending, and the share granted; comparison between hearings advanced via administrative review versus via requests.
- Timing and impact: average denial duration before advancement, and the average time into the denial period when advancement is granted; frequency of repeat advancement requests.
- Criteria and factors used in granting/denying advancement (evidence of rehabilitation, institutional behavior, psychological evaluations, offense severity).
- Rehabilitation metrics: types of programs considered (e.g., cognitive behavioral interventions), completion rates, correlation with advancement decisions, and wait times for program entry.
- Victim considerations: whether victim notification/input was provided and considered, categories of victim concerns, and measures to comply with Marsy’s Law.
- Outcomes of advanced hearings: grant rates for advanced vs. regular hearings, time to release after advancement, and any available recidivism data.
- For each advancement request, maintain a written summary of the decision, including basis for approval/denial and primary factors considered, and make these summaries available to the incarcerated person or their counsel, the victim/next of kin upon request, and the district attorney’s office.
- The report requirements are to be submitted under Government Code Section 9795 and remain in effect until January 1, 2032, when repealed.
- amendment to Penal Code Section 3041.5:
- Keeps existing due-process provisions for parole hearings (advance notice, file review, presence and ability to speak, access to records, and meaningful consideration of parole suitability).
- The bill’s language here is largely technical and aligns the parole hearing framework with the removal of the advancement mechanism; the substantive change is the removal of the board’s authority to advance dates (see above).
- amendment to Penal Code Section 3055 (Elderly Parole Program):
- The text here largely preserves the Elderly Parole Program structure and scheduling considerations; no explicit expansion or removal of the elderly parole mechanism is described beyond the general alignment with the new reporting framework.
- Sunset/ repeal:
- The new reporting provisions in Section 3069.6 are temporary, with a repeal date of January 1, 2032, after which the provisions would be repealed.
Administrative and reporting timeline
- Data collection and reporting obligation begins upon enactment, with the first annual report due March 1, 2027.
- Public publication of the annual report on the BPH website begins March 1, 2027, and continues annually thereafter.
- Written summaries for each advancement request must be maintained and shared with specified parties (incarcerated person or counsel, victim/next of kin on request, and district attorney’s office).
- The bill includes a sunset/repeal mechanism for these reporting provisions on January 1, 2032.
Who is affected
- The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) would shift from processing and potentially advancing parole hearings to reporting on advancement requests.
- Incarcerated individuals seeking parole consideration (and their counsel) would receive written summaries for advancement decisions (where applicable) and would gain access to these summaries.
- Victims, next of kin, and district attorneys would have access to advancement decision summaries upon request.
- The CDCR would coordinate with the BPH to collect and publish the data.
Impact and considerations
- Administrative: Creates a formal data-driven requirement to monitor and report on advancement requests and related processes, increasing transparency.
- Procedural: Removes the discretionary power of the BPH to advance hearings, potentially affecting inmates seeking earlier consideration.
- Public and victim rights: Maintains victim notification and input considerations within the reporting framework.
- Fiscal: The bill does not provide an appropriation; it indicates “No” for appropriations, though it requires ongoing data collection and reporting.
- Temporal: The data reporting is capped by a sunset in 2032, unless further legislative action extends or makes the provision permanent.
Overall, AB 2232 shifts parole advancement oversight from discretionary procedural action to a mandatory reporting regime while eliminating the board’s authority to advance hearing dates, aiming to improve transparency and accountability in how advancement requests are handled.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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